Kancigor: All the ingredients at the farmers market

Summer is just a memory, and there’s a crispness in the air, telling us that fall is truly here.

And if it’s fall can Oktoberfest be far behind?

The Downtown Fullerton Market season will close on Oct. 24 with an Oktoberfest celebration the whole family can enjoy – live entertainment and kids activities, including two costume parades at 5 and 6:45 p.m. with trick-or-treating at participating vendor booths.

I love visiting farmers’ markets and chatting with the farmers. I always learn something new. With a hankering for ratatouille, I was on the hunt for eggplants, but how to pick them?

On the day I visited, Bonilla Farms from Madera had beautiful round eggplants for a dollar. Juan Flores advised choosing them firm (they were all firm) and explained the difference between male and female eggplants. Sex education at the farmers market? Who knew!

Male eggplants have a round stem hole at the bottom, and females have a longer slash line.

“Pick the male ones,” he said. “They’ll have less seeds.

“We’re almost at the end of the season right now,” he said. “They’re growing in the summer.”

In season were pomegranates and apples. The Fujis may not look like the perfect (probably waxed) beauties you see in the supermarket, but what a difference in crispness and taste.

I spoke about bees and honey with Dale Harris and his assistant, Loretta Garcia, from the Harris Family Apiaries.

“The biggest problem with the bees is the lack of rain last year and the year before,” said Harris, who has been with the market since its inception.

“Try a little honey on your strawberries,” Garcia advised. “They will last longer.”

“If you like strawberries and yogurt for breakfast,” Harris added, “let the honey and strawberries sit overnight, and then add the yogurt in the morning. It’s delicious!”

“As of 2007,” he said, “California stores are only allowed to sell steam-processed or chemically fumigated almonds in order to kill naturally occurring bacteria. But we are still allowed to offer the unpasteurized real thing. The almond farmers and their lawyers are battling it out right now.” He advised storing them in the refrigerator.

Forgive the imprecision of the recipe – it’s different every time I make it. The idea is to add the vegetables in order of their cooking time; those that take longer add earlier. The accompanying recipe is the one I made that day. I brought it to a potluck in a large serving dish, sprinkled with shaved Parmesan cheese. I love leftovers in an omelet.

Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” (Workman) and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook,” (a Workman ebook short) can be found on the Web at www.cookingjewish.com.

JUDY'S RATATOUILLE

None of this is written in stone. Feel free to add or subtract whatever vegetables you choose in whatever quantities you like or have on hand.

Ingredients

About 1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 large onions, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, stems removed, sliced into thirds

4 carrots, sliced

1 eggplant, cubed, skin on

2 peppers (one red, one yellow) trimmed and diced

3 parsnips, sliced

2 zucchini, sliced

2 cans (15 ounces each) stewed tomatoes, whizzed in food processor

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder

1 1/2 teaspoons herbs de Provence

1 teaspoon za'atar (find at Middle Eastern market) or thyme

A few strands saffron, steeped in a little hot water

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Shaved Parmesan cheese, optional

Method

Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook until softened. Add paprika and cook and stir a minute or so. Stir in vegetables, green beans through zucchini, one variety at a time, cooking each about 5 minutes before adding the next. Add stewed tomatoes and spices, stir, cover and cook until the carrots are almost done. Add mushrooms, continue cooking. If too watery, cook uncovered until carrots are done. Add salt if needed. Sprinkle top with Parmesan, if desired.